Amusement and gaming machines

ABSTRACT

An amusement or gaming machine has a gamble wheel assembly which comprises a gamble wheel rotatably mounted in a machine cabinet about an axis inclined at an acute angle or at a right angle to the vertical, the wheel being formed with a plurality of circumferentially arranged ball carrying pockets, so arranged that when a ball is in a pocket at least part of the ball is visible from the front side of the wheel, a fixed part-annular ball retainer extending circumferentially about the wheel axis adjacent to the pockets to retain captive a ball that has been captured in a pocket in a ball capture region of the rotational path of the pockets, a ball supply unit for delivering a ball directly or indirectly to the ball capture region for capture in a pocket. Controllable release means is provided for releasing a captured ball from the pockets to be received in a ball outlet.

This invention relates to amusement and gaming machines and particularly, but not exclusively, to machines that are released for playing by means of some form of credit, such as payment by a coin, token or debit/credit card transaction.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

The invention stems from some work to design a machine with significant player-appeal, and is based upon our appreciation that machines that have mechanical components visible to the machine player and that move during playing of a game often give more satisfaction to a machine player than machines that display movements solely by a video display and/or by sequentially lit portions of a display behind a machine glass.

In the following description the term ‘ball’ is used to indicate a rolling element which will usually be a ball but may possibly be a coin or a token.

We have appreciated that a pocketed gamble wheel, such as a roulette wheel, housed in a machine cabinet that is suitable for use in, for example, an arcade or public house would have a significant player appeal. Such cabinets are generally upright and have a relatively small footprint in order to accommodate the machine in a small floor space, or to be able to arrange several machines next to one another in an arcade or casino. The machine player stands or sits in front of the machine cabinet.

Relatively bulky automatic roulette wheel machines are known in which the wheel is surrounded by an inclined wall, and the ball is propelled tangentially of the wall, usually by a blast of air, and the rolling ball does circuits around the inclined wall and then as it loses momentum proceeds down the inclined wall to encounter the rotating wheel, and eventually settles in a pocket of the wheel. The presence of the ball in a pocket may be detected in order to control the payout or credit mechanism of the machine.

Such machines are generally quite bulky because they are designed for use by several players that stand or sit around the machine.

Players are often suspicious that automatic machines may not be truly random, and the present invention in some of its aspects is concerned with providing a ball delivery mechanism in an automatic gamble wheel machine in which the ball delivery mechanisms can be seen by the machine player to be relatively random in delivering the ball to the pocketed gamble wheel.

SUMMARIES OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention a gamble wheel assembly for use in an amusement or gaming machine comprises a gamble wheel rotatably mounted with respect to a stationary support about an axis inclined at an acute angle or at a right angle to the vertical, the wheel being formed with a plurality of circumferentially arranged ball carrying pockets, so arranged that when a ball is in a pocket at least part of the ball is visible from the front side of the wheel, a part-annular ball retainer mounted on the support and so arranged to extend circumferentially about the wheel axis adjacent to the pockets to retain captive a ball that has been captured in a pocket in a ball capture region of the rotational path of the pockets, a ball supply unit mounted on said support and so arranged so as to deliver a ball to the wheel, the arrangement being such that the delivered ball is fed directly or indirectly to said ball capture region for capture in a pocket, controllable release means for releasing a captured ball from the pockets, and ball outlet means for receiving balls released from the pockets.

The ball retainer enables the gamble wheel to hold captive a ball in a pocket whereas the ball would roll out of a pocket of a conventional roulette wheel if the wheel were to be mounted in an inclined position.

Thus a ball that is guided into a pocket of the disc will, possibly after bouncing, come to rest in a pocket, and as the wheel rotates, the ball is carried away from the ball capture region.

The pockets may be defined at least in part by a plurality of circumferentially equally-spaced radial vanes projecting from the body of the wheel.

In some embodiments the pockets are each defined in part by respective concave pocket surfaces provided on the radially outwardly facing side-wall of a hub of the wheel.

The concave pocket surfaces may be of part-spherical shape, or of part-cylindrical shape extending in the axial direction of the hub but terminating short of the front face of the hub.

The location of the pockets may correspond to the position of a captured ball on a conventional horizontally-mounted roulette wheel.

The radially outer region of the wheel face adjacent to each pocket is preferably marked with indicia and/or a symbol to allot a value or property to the pocket.

Although the indicia may be numerals, as with a conventional roulette wheel, dice symbols, fruit symbols, playing card symbols may be used for example.

Means is preferably provided to determine the identity of the pocket in which a ball has become trapped.

A ball sensing means, for example a capacitative sensor, may be associated with the wheel to monitor which pockets contain a ball.

Alternatively, the balls may be released from the wheel by providing an opening in the lower part of the ball retainer, and the passage of a ball through said opening may be monitored in conjunction with the output of a encoder on the wheel to determine from which pocket a ball has rolled out.

A ball settling chamber is preferably provided adjacent to said ball capture region, the ball settling chamber being configured to permit some bouncing around and/or oscillation of a ball before the ball settles in a pocket to be captured by the wheel.

We have several preferred locations for the ball settling chamber:

In a first location, the ball settling chamber is defined by chamber walls that extend upwardly from the top of the wheel, and the ball supply delivers balls into the chamber which can then bounce around and/or oscillate in the chamber until they are captured by pockets exposed to, or fed by, the lower end of the ball settling chamber.

In a second location, the ball settling chamber is defined by a chamber wall that is positioned in front of the upper portion of the wheel and is sufficiently spaced therefrom to allow balls to bounce around in the chamber before settling in a pocket. In that case the walls of the ball settling chamber constitute a ball guiding means for directing the balls to the pockets.

In a third location, the ball settling chamber is positioned on or adjacent to a region of the wheel margin that is laterally displaced from the top of the wheel.

In a fourth location, the ball settling chamber is positioned adjacent to the bottom of the wheel.

Preferably at least the front wall of the ball settling chamber is transparent to enable a machine player to see the ball or balls bouncing and/or oscillating in the ball settling chamber. This can add attraction to the machine game and demonstrates to the player the random nature of the game being played.

A ball settling chamber in one embodiment, located in said first location, is defined by a pair of oppositely directed ramp surfaces extending upwardly and outwardly from one another, and connected by an intermediate platform provided with a cut-out slot that overlies an arcuate portion of the path of the disc pockets and extends over one or more of the pockets, the slot being of a transverse dimension greater than the diameter of a ball to enable a ball to drop into a pocket.

The slot is preferably provided along one margin of the platform, and the platform is sloped to direct the ball into the slot.

The ball is preferably led to the ramp surfaces by falling through a labyrinth assembly and will usually oscillate by rolling from one ramp surface and across the platform to the other ramp surface, and back again until the ball speed has reduced sufficiently to allow the ball to settle in a pocket without bouncing out again.

In one embodiment the ball retainer comprises a transparent plate and a part-annular ball track which encircles the wheel pockets, said slot being bounded on one side by the transparent plate, and said ball track extending substantially from opposite ends of the slot, whereby a ball that has entered said slot and settled in a pocket is then retained in the pocket as the pocket moves away from the slot, by the ball being trapped between the pocket wall, the transparent plate and the ball track.

In other embodiments of the invention the ball retainer in a part-annular form on a ball track.

In some embodiments of the invention having the ball settling chamber in the second location said chamber is defined between the wheel face and an arcuate hopper wall mounted on said support to confront the wheel face in said upper region of the wheel.

The arcuate hopper may be formed of a transparent plastics, or constructed as a welded wire basket.

The arcuate hopper preferably comprises a hopper front wall that defines with the front face of the disc face a downwardly tapering gap and two hopper end walls that lie substantially in radial planes of the wheel.

The dimensions of the hopper are preferably such that the hopper extends across a plurality of pockets of the wheel, for example eight pockets, but in some embodiments the hopper outlet may extend across a single pocket only.

The dimensions of the hopper are preferably such that a ball fed into the hopper can bounce between pockets within said chamber before settling in a pocket. This, in effect, simulates to a degree the bouncing around of a ball on a conventional roulette wheel before the ball settles in a pocket.

The pockets in the wheel face radially outwardly of the wheel in most embodiments of the invention, but they may face radially inwardly of the wheel axis, in which case it is preferred to provide a blow-off means for releasing the ball from the wheel.

When the ball settling chamber is located in said fourth location, adjacent to the bottom of the wheel, the ball supply means may be arranged to deposit a ball onto the outer face of the wheel so that the ball proceeds down the wheel face to reach the ball settling chamber. The front face of the wheel may be provided with one or more protrusions that can be struck by a ball, so as to provide some randomness in the path followed by a ball in proceeding to the ball settling chamber.

When the ball settling chamber is in said fourth location, the ball supply may be a tube issuing through the centre of a hub on which the wheel is journalled.

When the ball settling chamber is in said fourth location the chamber is preferably bounded by an arcuate upwardly facing ball track surface, and the ball track surface slopes towards the wheel so as to direct a ball that has lost momentum, through oscillation and/or bouncing in the chamber, into a pocket exposed to the chamber.

According to a second aspect of the invention an automatic gamble wheel machine comprising a credit means for release of the machine, a gamble wheel rotatably mounted within a machine cabinet about an axis inclined at an acute angle to the vertical or directed horizontally, and visible to a player through the cabinet window, a motor for rotating the gamble wheel, a tortuous ball supply unit mounted in the cabinet above the wheel, the ball supply unit defining one or more tortuous paths down which a ball or balls fed to the upper end of the ball supply unit passes under gravitational force in order to reach the lower end of the ball supply unit, the tortuous path or paths being visible to a player through a cabinet window, the lower end of the ball supply unit leading to the wheel, a part-annular ball retainer mounted on the support in register with the disc, closely spaced therefrom, and so arranged as to retain balls in the pockets once captured, detection means for detecting a pocket of the gamble wheel in which a ball comes to rest, and reward means responsive to the detection means to provide a player with a reward in dependence upon which pocket or pockets the ball or balls comes to rest, controllable release means for releasing balls from the pockets in a lower region of the wheel, and ball outlet means for receiving balls released from the pockets, ball return means for returning a ball from the wheel to a ball elevating means, the ball elevating means being adapted, when operated, to deliver a ball to the upper end of the ball supply unit.

Preferably the ball elevating means is a ball projecting means.

The machine player is therefore able to see a ball follow the tortuous path or paths before being delivered to the gamble wheel.

The ball supply unit may comprise a zigzag, or spiral, ball pathway in the form of a zigzag or spiral tube, or in the form of a series of elongate troughs connected by reversing bends. Such ball pathways were commonly used in early upright slot machines.

Alternatively, or in addition, the ball supply unit comprises a labyrinth which defines a plurality of tortuous paths between an array of protrusions in the form of pins, blocks, or vanes for example.

A relatively random supply of balls may utilise a labyrinth supply. The labyrinth ball supply may take many forms, some of which may correspond to the labyrinths that were employed in traditional mechanical pin-ball machines of the kind having a slim vertical cabinet housing a labyrinth behind a vertical machine glass, and a finger-operated lever for projecting the ball along a track to the upper region of the labyrinth down which the ball then tumbles to be received in one or more winnings cups, or in a no-win receptacle. Such machines were extremely popular many years ago, partly because of the attraction provided by the unpredictable path of the ball passing through the labyrinth.

Thus one preferred embodiment of the invention is aimed at utilising the combination of the player appeal of a labyrinth structure for a falling ball, and that of a pocketed gamble wheel, by feeding an inclined gamble wheel machine having a pocketed gamble wheel by means of a labyrinth structure.

A lower portion of the machine preferably comprises a game information display.

The game information display is preferably provided on a forwardly projecting portion of the machine cabinet that extends from substantially the base of the machine glass behind which the roulette wheel is located to the front of the machine.

The game information display may incorporate player-operable control pads or buttons, which may be implemented by means of a touch-sensitive portion of the display.

The player may be afforded the ability to select between different available games, which may be associated with changes in the indicia/symbols displayed by the gamble wheel. For that purpose the radially outer region of the roulette machine disc face would be provided with a respective switchable display, such as a liquid crystal display.

The game information display can provide information on bets placed and accounting records.

One preferred embodiment of the invention comprises an upright machine cabinet having an upper substantially vertical window through which is visible a ball supply assembly, a sloping middle window behind which is the pocketed gamble wheel, and a forwardly projecting information display. Such a machine can combine the attributes of mechanical game features which are visible through the windows with software-implemented game features associated with the information display panel.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Various amusement and gaming machines, and component assemblies thereof, all in accordance with the invention, will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a machine,

FIG. 2 is a front view of the machine of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical cross-section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is an axial view of the roulette wheel of the machine of FIG. 1 and displaying numbers in association with the wheel pockets,

FIG. 5 shows how the wheel of FIG. 1 can instead display dice symbols, playing card symbols for playing the game of Black Jack, Poker and other card games, or fruit symbols,

FIG. 6 is a perspective rear view of a modified machine in accordance with the invention and showing the ball return tubes,

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the roulette wheel assembly of the machine of FIGS. 1 to 4 showing the raised central hub and ball pockets defined adjacent to the hub,

FIG. 8 is a front elevation of the gamble wheel assembly and showing a ball in a pocket in the upper right-hand quadrant of the wheel, the ball being held captive to the wheel by a part-circular ball-retaining cage,

FIG. 9 is an enlargement of the portion B of FIG. 8 showing the ball seated in a pocket,

FIG. 10 is an enlargement of the portion C of FIG. 8 showing the cage door in a closed position,

FIG. 11 is an enlarged partial view of the roulette wheel assembly looking in the axial direction of the wheel, and with the ball in the position shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the hub of the wheel being partially cut-away to show the ball seated in a pocket of the wheel,

FIG. 12 is an enlarged radial cross-section of the gamble wheel assembly taken on the line 12-12 of FIG. 11,

FIG. 13 is an enlarged front view of a labyrinth structure that can be used in the upper part of the machine of FIGS. 1 to 3, and comprising a tapered array of fixed deflector pins,

FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 13 of an alternative labyrinth structure comprising a series of fixed deflector blocks,

FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 9 of an alternative labyrinth structure in which the deflecting elements in the lower rows are rotatable, gear mechanism for rotating three of the elements being indicted in outline,

FIG. 16 is a view similar to FIG. 9 of a further labyrinth which comprises a plurality of fixed pins and some pivoted paddles,

FIG. 17 shows labyrinth structure comprising pivoted paddle, fixed pins and rotating deflector elements, gear trains for rotating the rotating elements being shown in outline,

FIG. 18 shows a ball supply assembly suitable for use in the upper part of the machine of FIG. 1 comprising a spiral ball-conveying track mounted above a small tapered labyrinth of fixed deflector pins,

FIGS. 19 and 20 show schematically a modification in accordance with the invention of the machine of FIG. 1 in which the roulette wheel is arranged vertically, FIG. 20 representing a vertical cross-section on the line 20-20 of FIG. 19,

FIGS. 21 and 22 shows schematically modifications in accordance with the invention of the machine of FIG. 1 in which the gamble wheel is arranged at 45° to the horizontal, or at any other angle, FIG. 22 representing a vertical cross-section on the line 22-22 of FIG. 21,

[FIGS. 23 to 26 have been deleted]

FIG. 27 is a front elevation of the vertical gamble wheel assembly of the machine in accordance with the invention, and showing a ball that is just being captured in a pocket at the top of the wheel, the ball guiding unit in the form of oppositely directed ramps being shown above the wheel,

FIG. 28 is a vertical cross-section on the line 28-28 of FIG. 27 and showing the annular transparent ball-retaining front plate,

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of the roulette wheel and V-shaped ball supply ramps of the machine of FIG. 27,

FIG. 30 is an enlargement of the portion P of FIG. 29 showing a ball that has just settled in the uppermost pocket of the wheel,

FIG. 31 is a view similar to FIG. 27 of a machine with a slightly modified ramp and showing the ball having been carried round with the wheel to the 3 o'clock position,

FIG. 32 is a partial horizontal cross-sectional view on the line 32-32 of FIG. 31,

FIG. 33 is a front elevation, similar to FIG. 22 but showing the ball being released from the wheel at the 6 o'clock position,

FIG. 34 is a vertical cross-section on the line 34-34 of FIG. 33,

FIG. 35 is a perspective view from above and to one side, of a modified ramp similar to that of FIGS. 29, 30,

FIG. 36 is a view similar to FIG. 32 but of a modification in which the ball is retained in a pocket by a part-annular form on the ball track 86,

[FIG. 37 is now deleted],

FIG. 38 is a front perspective view of the upper part of a machine, with the front cabinet glass raised, showing a further labyrinth assembly, and the ramp of FIG. 35,

FIG. 39 is a front elevation of an inclined wheel assembly in accordance with the invention in which a ball settling chamber is located laterally from the top of the wheel, and in which the balls can bounce before being captured by the wheel,

FIG. 40 is a vertical cross-section of the wheel assembly of FIG. 39,

FIG. 41 is a perspective view from the front, of the wheel assembly of FIGS. 39, 40,

FIGS. 42 and 43 are a front view and vertical cross-section respectively of an inclined wheel assembly in which balls initially oscillate on a ramp before falling across the front face of the wheel, to be caught by an arcuate wheel surround in the form of a track that is inclined in transverse cross-section and which defines a ball oscillation zone at the base of the wheel,

FIGS. 44 and 45 are a front view and vertical cross-section respectively of an inclined wheel assembly in which the ball pockets face radially inwardly of the wheel axis, and a ball bouncing zone is positioned in the lower part of the wheel,

FIG. 46 is a perspective view of the wheel assembly of FIGS. 44, 45,

FIGS. 47 and 48 are a front view and vertical cross-section respectively of an inclined wheel assembly similar to that of FIGS. 42, 43 but in which the balls are supplied to the wheel through the wheel hub,

FIGS. 49 and 50 are a front view and vertical cross-section respectively of an inclined wheel assembly which is generically similar to that of FIGS. 7 and 8, and

FIG. 51 is a perspective view of the main parts of the assembly of FIGS. 49 and 50.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 there is shown a coin-released gamble wheel machine 1 which comprises an upright machine cabinet of a relatively conventional shape that is suitable for use in arcades or in public houses. That is, it is suitable for playing by standing machine players. Any well-known kind of coin-release mechanism can be provided.

As seen in FIG. 2, the machine can be considered to comprise an upper portion 3, a middle portion 4 and a lower portion 5. The upper portion 3 comprises some form of tortuous ball supply unit that receives a ball in its top from the free end 6 of a ball supply tube 7, that extends upwardly from a ball projector unit 8 of the kind commonly used in pin-ball machines, in which the user pulls a plunger outwards against the force of a spring, and on release of the plunger, a ball is projected up the tube 7 to be dispensed at the tube outlet 6. Alternatively, the ball can be dispensed by electric, magnetic or pneumatic devices in response to the player pressing a button.

The ball can be hollow to reduce its weight.

The middle portion 4 of the machine is in the form of a novel gamble machine assembly in which the roulette wheel 9 is rotatable about an axis Z-Z which is inclined at an acute angle to the vertical.

The lower portion 5 of the machine comprises a display panel 10, which may be touch-sensitive panel. The panel 10 can be arranged to display the progress of a game on the machine, such as accumulated winnings and/or provides some additional gambling features.

The front of the cabinet, beneath the projecting portion 5 is provided with a conventional pay-out means or prize-awarding means, not shown.

The upper portion of the machine lies behind an upper, vertical machine glass 11, the middle portion 4 lying behind a lower machine glass 12, which extends in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the gamble wheel, from the lower edge of the upper machine glass 11 to the rear edge of sloping cabinet shelf 13 which mounts the display panel 10.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7 the gamble wheel comprises a central raised hub 14, an annular disc 15 surrounding the hub 14, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart radial vanes 16 of generally elongated triangular outline projecting forwardly from the face of the disc 15, as viewed on a radial cross-section of the wheel, so as to contribute to defining a series of ball pockets 18.

The radially outer peripheral side-wall of the hub 14 is formed with a plurality of circumferentially equally-spaced part-cylindrical surfaces 16′ which, as shown in FIG. 12, stop short of the outer face 30 of the hub 14, so as to define a retaining flange 31. The surfaces 16′ extend between adjacent pairs of the radially inner ends of webs 16.

The combination of the part-cylindrical surfaces 16′ with the radially inner ends of the webs 16, and the front face of the radially inner portions of disc 15 define a plurality of circumferentially equally-spaced pockets 32 in which a ball may be located, such as the ball 24 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

The gamble wheel 9 is rotatably mounted on a roulette wheel chassis, not shown, which is normally fixed in place within the cabinet 2, and is provided with a drive motor, not shown, which can be activated for a predetermined, or random, period of time to cause the gamble wheel to be spun for a short period of time.

A part-annular ball guiding unit 20 covers an upper region of the wheel 9 and is shaped to feed a ball or balls entering the ball guiding unit 20 from the upper machine portion 3 into the pockets 32 of said upper region of the wheel, and is preferably dimensioned to permit a ball to bounce around within the ball settling chamber defined between the walls of the unit 20 and the disc.

One embodiment of a ball guiding unit 20 constructed of welded wires in the form of an arcuate hopper is shown in FIGS. 7 to 12, and comprises a part-annular hopper front wall 21 which is substantially normal to the wheel axis Z-Z and extends radially inwardly to the hub 9, but is spaced slightly therefrom so as not to impede rotation of the wheel, and a pair of circumferentially spaced-apart hopper end walls 22 of substantially elongated triangular shape constituted by a series of L-shaped wires 22′ of progressively increasing length that extend up to the path of the vanes 16 but are closely spaced therefrom. The ball guiding unit 20 defines with the disc front face a ball settling chamber which is sufficiently wide, in the direction normal to the disc, to permit a ball to bounce within the chamber, to enable a ball that falls into the chamber to bounce from one pocket to another on occasion, before the ball comes to rest in one of the pockets of the wheel. The width of the chamber, between the front wall of the hopper and the disc face, tapers downwardly, to direct the ball towards the pockets 32.

Once a ball has become seated in a pocket 32, the ball will be conveyed by the wheel past the end wall 22, and will be carried round with the wheel.

The ball in the pocket is retained in the pocket during rotation by a part-annular ball retaining strips 23 and by the flange 31.

The ball retaining strips 23 each extend from a position 35 at the end wall 22 of the hopper to a position 38 adjacent to the respective end 36 of a release strip 37, FIG. 10, and are each supported on respective wire arms 23′. The strips 23 in transverse cross-section are curved as shown in FIG. 12, to increase their rigidity, and they effectively provide part-circular cages to retain a ball in a pocket whilst the ball pocket is travelling for the arcuate lengths of the strips 23.

The movable strip 37 is shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 in its normal position in which it is contiguous with the fixed strips 23, so as to retain a ball in a pocket during rotation of the wheel. When it is desired to release a ball from a pocket, the strip 37 is moved downwards by a vertically movable actuating rod 40. Thus, strip 37 provides a cage door.

When a ball is released from the wheel it falls into a collection funnel 45, seen in FIG. 7, which returns the ball to the ball projector unit 8.

In FIG. 4, the gamble wheel disc is shown carrying indicia in the form of numerals that each are positioned in the radially outer part of a respective pocket. The numerals are in a random order around the wheel, and it can be arranged that the ‘starting position’ of the wheel is a random one.

A suitable ball detector means is provided to detect the pocket in which the ball has lodged. Such detector means are known in automatic roulette machines of the usual types.

The ball detector means could be an optical detector or a capacitive sensor, and the output of the ball detector is transmitted to the lower portion 5 of the machine for a determination of the effect on the overall game being played.

The ball released from the wheel will roll down a collection apron 25, FIG. 3, that is positioned behind the display 10 and is shaped to direct the ball to the inlet of the ball projector unit 8.

In the modified machine of FIG. 6 a return tube 45′ conveys balls released from the gamble wheel to a ball projector button by the machine player.

FIG. 5 shows dice, card symbols and fruit symbols that may alternatively be provided on the wheel to enable various games to be played on the machine. In particular, Black Jack and Poker may be played.

Preferably the outer margin of the wheel disc face is in the form of switchable display elements, for example LCD elements, to enable the type of indicia displayed on the disc to be selected by the player at the beginning, or at an intermediate stage of playing the machine.

It should be appreciated that when the ball is supplied to the wheel by following a tortuous path, there are many possible devices that may be used for producing one or more tortuous paths for the ball moving down the upper region 3 of the machine under gravitational force from the upper end 6 of ball supply 7. The progress of the ball down the tortuous path is visible to the machine player through a window, such as upper machine glass 11 in the machine cabinet. This displays to the machine player a degree of randomness in the delivery of the ball to the roulette wheel 9.

Some examples of arrangements for producing a tortuous path are shown in FIGS. 13 to 18.

In FIG. 13 the upper portion 3 is provided with a labyrinth in the form of an array of forwardly projecting pins 3′ laid out in a generally funnel outline. Each horizontal row of pins is staggered with respect to the row above to cause a ball to bounce around as it proceeds down the array, thereby to execute a tortuous path. As is well known the path of the ball through the labyrinth will vary according to the initial velocity of the ball is it leaves the end 6 of the tube 7 and this is not be controlled precisely.

FIG. 14 shows a labyrinth of forwardly projecting blocks 50 bounded by funnel walls 51 for directing the ball towards the roulette wheel.

FIG. 15 shows a labyrinth comprising alternate rows of blocks of different shapes. There is an upper row of triangular blocks 53, above a row of cylindrical blocks 54, beneath which is a row of triangular blocks 55, and finally a row of square blocks 56. The blocks 55 and 56 are rotatable about respective horizontal axes by means of gears, indicated at 57, 58 for example. This arrangement in which some non-round elements of the labyrinth rotate increases, in a very visible manner, the randomness of the tortuous path of a ball down the labyrinth.

FIG. 16 shows a labyrinth comprising fixed pins, tiltable vanes 59, and flippers 60 which are driven in a cyclic manner by a suitable drive motor.

FIG. 17 shows a compact labyrinth comprising tiltable or rotatable vanes 59, and a row of rotatable blocks 61, 62, 63, 64 of very different shapes, all driven by gearing 65 indicated in broken outline. Since the blocks 61 to 64 are of very different shapes, the path of the ball down the labyrinth is unpredictable.

FIG. 18 shows the use of a spiral tube indicated by line 65 mounted above a labyrinth of pins 3′. The lower end 66 of the tube 65 is directed at a central upper pin 67 and a ball leaving tube end 66 will bounce randomly according to the speed of the ball leaving the tube end 66, which will vary according to the speed of the ball, which is not controlled in any precise manner.

Referring now to FIGS. 19 to 26 these show various modifications to the machine of FIG. 1, and corresponding reference numbers have been applied to corresponding parts in the different Figures of the drawings.

In the modified machine of FIGS. 19 and 20 the roulette wheel 9 is mounted vertically, for rotation about a horizontal axis. In this machine a tortuous path for the ball is provided by a series of elongate sloping troughs 70 arranged in a zig-zag manner, the ends of the troughs being connected by ball reversing bends 71.

The embodiment of FIGS. 21 and 22 is similar to that of FIG. 19, 20 but the wheel 9 is shown mounted at an angle of 45°, but the wheel can be mounted at other angles in the range 0° to 90°

Referring now to FIGS. 27 to 34, these show one particularly preferred construction in accordance with the invention incorporating an advantageous ball guiding unit defining a ball settling chamber for allowing the ball to be captured by the wheel. The machine of FIGS. 27 to 34 is provided with ball settling unit in the form of a ball ramp assembly 80 which comprises oppositely directed ramp surfaces 81, 82 connected by an intermediate platform 83, the surfaces 81, 82 extending upwardly and outwardly from one another. The ramp surfaces 81, 82 and the upper surface of platform 83, are sloped towards a transparent plate 84, conveniently a glass plate, which forms part of a ball retainer for retaining captured balls in pockets of the wheel, such as ball 85 in FIG. 31, but also defines a front wall bounding the ball settling chamber.

The modified ramp assembly 80 of FIG. 35 incorporates a front flange 80′ for abutting a machine glass.

The gamble wheel 9 of the construction of FIGS. 27 to 34 is provided with part-spherical pockets of lozenge shape which interrupt the front edge of the margin of the wheel, the centres of the pockets each facing outwardly of the wheel at a angle of approximately 45° to the axis of the wheel.

A part-annular ball track 86, best seen in section in FIG. 32, has a ball-guiding surface 87 that faces forwardly and radially inwardly of the wheel, so that the ball 85 is retained in a pocket by the combination of the ball-guiding surface 87 and the transparent plate 84.

The platform 83 is provided in the front margin thereof with an elongate cut-out 90 which defines with the plate 84 an elongate slot extending over about three pocket-lengths of the margin of the wheel 9. The ball track 86 is interrupted at ends 92 for a corresponding arcuate length to enable a ball that passes through the slot to enter one of the exposed pockets 32.

A labyrinth of pins, blocks etc, not shown, or other tortuous ball supply, is mounted above the ramp assembly 80, such that when a ball issues from the labyrinth it is caught by the ramp assembly 80, in whatever position it issues from the labyrinth, and then rolls down one of the ramps 81, 82. Usually the velocity of the ball on encountering the platform 83 is such that the ball will not settle in an exposed pocket, but instead will bounce out and proceed up the opposite ramp. The player will thus see the ball oscillate by executing one or more traverses of the ramps 81, 82 before it settles into an exposed pocket. Once a ball has settled in a pocket, such as ball 91 in FIGS. 29, 30, the ball will be carried by the wheel to pass under the free end 92 of the ball track 86, this being facilitated by the curved ends 93, FIG. 30, of the cut-out 90. The ball is then carried round with the wheel until it is released therefrom by a gate 37 operated by a solenoid actuator 94, as shown in FIG. 34, where a ball 95 is being released.

It will be appreciated that the motion of the ball on the ramp assembly 80 will provide further interest to the machine player, and the degree of randomness will be apparent to the player.

FIG. 35 shows a wire cage ball funnel 96 which is suitable for use in feeding a ball 97 from an upright tortuous ball supply to the margin of a horizontal gamble wheel.

In the embodiments described thus far, utilising an inclined or vertical wheel, the ball settling chamber was located at or adjacent to the top of the wheel. Various embodiments will now be described which are provided with ball settling chambers in other regions of the wheel.

FIGS. 39 to 41 show schematically how a ball settling chamber 100 can be located generally in a region 101 laterally displaced from the top of the wheel. In the illustrated construction the ball settling chamber 100 is defined by a rear plate 102, funnel walls 103, 104, and a glass cover-plate 106, the balls being supplied to chamber 100 down an incline 105.

The ball or balls fed down incline 105 bounce around in the ball settling chamber 100 until they settle in a pocket and are carried around by the wheel, in the clockwise direction of FIG. 39, to be retained by the profile of the part annular ball-retaining surface 107. The wheel is desirably spun for long enough to permit a captured ball to be carried round by more than one complete revolution of the wheel before the release gate 37 is opened to allow the ball to drop into the collection funnel 45.

FIGS. 42 and 43 show schematically how a ball settling chamber 100 can be located generally in a region 101 adjacent to the lower part of the wheel. Desirably balls are fed to the ball settling chamber 100 by passing down the front face 108 of the wheel. In the illustrated construction the balls are initially supplied to a ball ramp assembly 80 positioned above the wheel. A ball fed to one end of the ramp oscillates on the ramp before slowing down to drop through a feed tube 109 leading to the upper part of the front face 108 of the wheel. The front face 108 is provided with a protruding central capstan 110 and a series of triangular protrusions 111 which define a labyrinth for balls falling down the front face 108 of the wheel. The balls are confined by a domed glass cover 112 and are directed by the cover 112 into the ball settling chamber 100 at the lower margin of the wheel.

The ball settling chamber 100 in the construction of FIGS. 42, 43 comprises an arcuate chamber portion defined by an arcuate upwardly facing ball track surface 113, the ball track surface sloping towards the wheel, as shown in FIG. 43, so as to direct a ball that has lost momentum towards the wheel to become seated in a pocket of the wheel.

A ball that is initially received in the chamber 100 will have freedom to oscillate along the chamber, as indicated by the double-ended arrows in FIG. 42, but then will settle towards the wheel, become trapped in a wheel pocket, and then be carried around by the wheel.

The clearance 114 between the lower part of the glass cover 112 and the lower part of the wheel is sufficient to permit some energetic balls to bounce upwards out of the chamber 100, up in front of the disc face 108, before settling against the track surface 113 to oscillate therealong.

FIGS. 44 to 46 show a wheel in which the pocket surfaces 114 on the wheel 9 face radially inwardly with respect to the axis of the wheel, and a part-annular, fixed ball-retaining strip 115 is located radially inwards from the pockets 114.

Balls are fed to the front face of the wheel at the top of the wheel by a supply tube 109 which can be associated with a random supply 115 indicated in FIG. 45, such as a labyrinth or ramp assembly.

The ball or balls will bounce around against the lower portion of the front face of the disc, jumping in and out of the pockets in the region chamber 100 that is bounded by the free ends 116 of the retaining strip 115. As a ball loses momentum it will settle in a pocket and be carried around with the wheel, confined by the strip 115.

In order to release a ball from a pocket, an air jet 120 is positioned behind the lower part of the wheel, and the wheel is provided with a hole for each pocket to enable a ball to be blown out of the pocket when the air jet 120 is operated, the ball then falling into funnel 45.

FIGS. 47 and 48 show a construction similar to that of FIGS. 42, 43 but in which the ball supply comprises a tube 121 extending through a stationary hub 122 on which the wheel 9 is journalled. The tube 121 may extend downwards behind the wheel, as shown in full outline in FIG. 48, or upwards as shown in broken outline in FIG. 48. Balls emitted by the tube 121 will then fall down the front face 108 of the disc, and will encounter the protrusions 111 before entering the chamber 100, as previously described with reference to FIGS. 42, 43.

FIGS. 49 to 51 show a gamble wheel assembly which is generically similar to that of FIGS. 7 and 8, and corresponding reference numerals have been applied to corresponding parts. In this construction the pockets 32 face radially outwardly of the axis of the wheel and are formed in the radially outer portion of a ring 130 which projects from the front of the wheel 9.

The ball retainer in FIGS. 49 to 51 comprises a part-annular rigid strip 23 provided with outwardly flared ends 23 a, 23 b, that guide balls towards the wheel pockets and define opposite ends of ball settling chamber 100. The broken outline 101 indicates generally the region that can be used to provide such a ball settling chamber 100, but the detail of construction of the front wall of the ball settling chamber have not been shown and, indeed, many possibilities exist.

Although the machines have been described as employing a single ball, it is possible to use a plurality of balls in a game, the balls being released into the ball supply either simultaneously or in turn. 

1. A gamble wheel assembly for use in an amusement or gaming machine comprising a gamble wheel rotatably mounted with respect to a stationary support about an axis inclined at an acute angle or at a right angle to the vertical, the wheel being formed with a plurality of circumferentially arranged ball carrying pockets, so arranged that when a ball is in a pocket at least part of the ball is visible from the front side of the wheel, a part-annular ball retainer mounted on the support and so arranged to extend circumferentially about the wheel axis adjacent to the pockets to retain captive a ball that has been captured in a pocket in a ball capture region of the rotational path of the pockets, a ball supply unit mounted on said support and so arranged so as to deliver a ball to the wheel, the arrangement being such that the delivered ball is fed directly or indirectly to said ball capture region for capture in a pocket, controllable release means for releasing a captured ball from the pockets, and ball outlet means for receiving balls released from the pockets.
 2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the pockets are defined at least in part by a plurality of circumferentially equally-spaced radial vanes projecting from the body of the wheel.
 3. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the pockets are each defined in part by respective concave pocket surfaces provided on the radially outwardly facing side-wall of a hub of the wheel.
 4. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the radially outer region of the wheel face adjacent to each pocket is marked with indicia and/or a symbol to allot a value or property to the pocket.
 5. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 comprising means to determine the identity of the pocket in which a ball has become trapped.
 6. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which a ball settling chamber is provided adjacent to said ball capture region, the ball settling chamber being configured to permit some bouncing around and/or oscillation of a ball before the ball settles in a pocket to be captured by the wheel.
 7. An assembly as claimed in claim 6 in which the ball settling chamber is defined by chamber walls that extend upwardly from the top of the wheel, and the ball supply delivers balls into the chamber which can then bounce around and/or oscillate in the chamber until they are captured by pockets exposed to, or fed by, the lower end of the ball settling chamber.
 8. An assembly as claimed in claim 6 in which the ball settling chamber is defined by a chamber wall that is positioned in front of the upper portion of the wheel and is sufficiently spaced therefrom to allow balls to bounce around in the chamber before settling in a pocket.
 9. An assembly as claimed in claim 6 in which the ball settling chamber is positioned on or adjacent to a region of the wheel margin that is laterally displaced from the top of the wheel.
 10. An assembly as claimed in claim 6 in which the ball settling chamber is positioned adjacent to the bottom of the wheel.
 11. An assembly as claimed in claim 7 in which the ball settling chamber is defined by a pair of oppositely directed ramp surfaces extending upwardly and outwardly from one another, and connected by an intermediate platform provided with a cut-out slot that overlies an arcuate portion of the path of the disc pockets and extends over one or more of the pockets, the slot being of a transverse dimension greater than the diameter of a ball to enable a ball to drop into a pocket.
 12. An assembly as claimed in claim 11 in which the ball is led to the ramp surfaces by falling through a labyrinth assembly.
 13. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the ball retainer comprises a transparent plate and a part-annular ball track which encircles the wheel pockets, said slot being bounded on one side by the transparent plate.
 14. An assembly as claimed in claim 8 in which the ball settling chamber is defined between the wheel face and an arcuate hopper wall mounted on said support to confront the wheel face in said upper region of the wheel.
 15. An assembly as claimed in claim 14 in which a front wall of the hopper defines with the front face of the disc face a downwardly tapering gap, and the hopper comprises two hopper end walls that lie substantially in radial planes of the wheel.
 16. An assembly as claimed in claim 14 in which the dimensions of the hopper are such that the hopper extends across a plurality of pockets of the wheel.
 17. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the dimensions of the hopper are such that a ball fed into the hopper can bounce between pockets within said chamber before settling in a pocket.
 18. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the pockets in the wheel face radially inwardly of the wheel axis.
 19. An assembly as claimed in claim 18 in which an air jet is provided for removing a ball from the wheel.
 20. An assembly as claimed in claim 10 in which the ball supply is arranged to deposit a ball onto the outer face of the wheel so that the ball proceeds down the wheel face to reach the ball settling chamber.
 21. An assembly as claimed in claim 20 in which the front face of the wheel is provided with one or more protrusions that can be struck by a ball, so as to provide some randomness in the path followed by a ball in proceeding to the ball settling chamber.
 22. An assembly as claimed in claim 20 in which the ball supply is a tube issuing through the centre of a hub on which the wheel is journalled.
 23. An assembly as claimed in claim 20 in which the ball settling chamber is bounded by an arcuate upwardly facing ball track surface, and the ball track surface slopes towards the wheel so as to direct a ball that has lost momentum, through oscillation and/or bouncing in the chamber, into a pocket exposed to the chamber.
 24. An automatic gamble wheel machine comprising a credit means for release of the machine, a gamble wheel rotatably mounted within a machine cabinet about an axis inclined at an acute angle to the vertical, or about an axis directed horizontally, and visible to a player through the cabinet window, a motor for rotating the gamble wheel, a tortuous ball supply unit mounted in the cabinet above the wheel, the ball supply unit defining one or more tortuous paths down which a ball or balls fed to the upper end of the ball supply unit passes under gravitational force in order to reach the lower end of the ball supply unit, the tortuous path or paths being visible to a player through a cabinet window, the lower end of the ball supply unit leading to the wheel, a part-annular ball retainer mounted on the support in register with the disc, closely spaced therefrom, and so arranged as to retain balls in the pockets once captured, detection means for detecting a pocket of the gamble wheel in which a ball comes to rest, and reward means responsive to the detection means to provide a player with a reward in dependence upon which pocket or pockets the ball or balls comes to rest, controllable release means for releasing balls from the pockets in a lower region of the wheel, and ball outlet means for receiving balls released from the pockets, ball return means for returning a ball from the wheel to a ball elevating means, the ball elevating means being adapted, when operated, to deliver a ball to the upper end of the ball supply unit.
 25. A machine as claimed in claim 24 in which the ball elevating means is a ball projecting means.
 26. A machine as claimed in claim 24 in which the ball supply unit comprises a zig-zag, or spiral, ball pathway.
 27. A machine as claimed in claim 24 in which the ball supply unit comprises a labyrinth which defines a plurality of tortuous paths between an array of protrusions.
 28. A machine as claimed in claim 24 in which the lower end of the ball supply unit leads into a ball guiding unit in register with an arcuate portion of the path of the pockets, the ball guiding unit being adapted to guide a ball received in the ball guiding unit into a pocket of the wheel.
 29. A machine as claimed in claim 28 in which the ball guiding unit accommodates some initial bouncing of the ball from the pockets until the ball can settle in a pocket.
 30. A machine as claimed in claim 24 in which the ball guiding unit comprises a stationary ball supply chamber defined between the disc face and an arcuate hopper mounted on said support to confront the disc face in said upper region of the disc.
 31. A machine as claimed in claim 24 in which the ball guiding unit comprises a pair of oppositely directed ramp surfaces extending upwardly and outwardly from one another, and connected by an intermediate platform provided with a cut-out slot that overlies an arcuate portion of the path of the disc pockets and extends over one or more a plurality of the pockets, the slot being of a transverse dimension greater than the diameter of a ball to enable a ball to drop into a pocket.
 32. A machine as claimed in claim 31 in which the slot is provided along one margin of the platform, and the platform is sloped to direct the ball into the slot.
 33. A machine as claimed in claim 31 in which the ball retainer comprises a transparent plate and a part-annular ball track which encircles the wheel pockets, said slot being bounded on one side by the transparent plate, and said ball track extending substantially from opposite ends of the slot, whereby a ball that has entered said slot and settled in a pocket is then retained in the pocket as the pocket moves away from the slot, by the ball being trapped between the pocket wall, the transparent plate and the ball track. 